"It's true, Tony. If they're handfasting, then she is going to want to take a look at what she's bargaining for when he pees."

"No one is bargaining for anything," Spinelli argued. "And don't you talk about my fiancee that way."

"Carlos. Dominic. Both of you quit it. Now. Listen, Dominic, I'm sure you're getting yourself all worked up about nothing. "I'll talk to Lilith tonight and"

"No. Don't you dare."

"Okay. I won't say anything about you being worried."

"I'm not worried."

"Of course, you're not. Listen to me. I will simply tell her that you mentioned this handfasting thing, and I will ask her what gives. Maybe it is not an all day thing like you're worried about."

"I told you. I'm not worried."

"He's worried," said Carlos.

"I'm not worried."

"He's not worried. n.o.body is worried. Now, Dominic. Look at me. Straight up. We good?"

He gave me a half-a.s.s nod, but his smile seemed genuine. "Yeah. We're good."

"All right then." We embraced in that awkward guy-hug sort of way. Carlos came over then and joined us in a three-way huddle. For the moment, my conscience was clear. Carlos had not told Spinelli about my dream, the one where Ursula left me sticky, wet and breathless. I prayed he never would, but if he at least waited until after the wedding then maybe, just maybe, I thought, Spinelli would not want to kill me.

THIRTEEN.

The next morning, Carlos, Spinelli and I met at the Percolator to discuss the case over breakfast. It was already Thursday, and we had scarcely defined our case, let alone our suspects. We had so many loose ends and red herrings embedded in the details, it proved impossible to pick a grounding point from which to anchor.

"We start at the beginning," said Carlos, pushing aside his OJ to make room for his plate of sausage, eggs and pancakes. "Lay everything out. See what this case entails. Maybe we are looking at the little pieces so closely that we are missing the big picture."

"Sure. It's the forest for the trees," said Spinelli.

"What forest?"

"That's the expression. You can't see the forest because of all the trees."

"That's silly. The forest is the trees."

"I know, but that's the expression."

"Who made that up?"

"I don't know. It's how it goes."

"Please," I said. "Can we move on?"

"Tony, do you hear this? Is that a silly expression or what?"

"Carlos."

"No, really. It's like telling someone he can't see the ocean for the water. Uh-duh."

"I know, Carlos. It's crazy. Let it go."

"I'm just saying."

"Can we get back to this? You mentioned the big picture. What is the big picture?"

Spinelli said, "The big picture is that people are dying over something called QE647."

"Yeah, but from the beginning. What do we know for sure?"

Carlos said, "I know my car got all shot up."

"So you get another one. Back to Monday. Who took the call about the robbery at Biocrynetix Laboratories?"

Spinelli said, "Dispatch took it. Sent it up to me."

"Did you talk to Ferguson yourself?"

"I did."

"How did he sound over the phone?"

"Normal, I suppose. He seemed matter-of-fact. Very deliberate. Not panicky if that's what you mean. Why?"

"I'm trying to understand why Ferguson called us in to begin with. Clearly, he does not really want us digging in to this case too deeply. On the one hand, we have someone in the government, some shadow agency looking for the compound. On the other, we have what appears to be a well-funded, perhaps international ent.i.ty also looking for it."

"Maybe a foreign government."

"Maybe. So why bring us in? Surely Biocrynetix Laboratories must view us as a thorn in its side."

"A necessary thorn," said Carlos.

"How do you mean?"

"I don't think Biocrynetix Laboratories called us in, per se. I think Ferguson called us in to cover his own a.s.s. He figures if the s.h.i.t hits the fan he can always say he did the right thing by calling us in."

"All right, so let's put it out there. We know someone stole the compound. That seems obvious."

"And the research doc.u.ments," Spinelli added.

"Yes. The research doc.u.ments and the compound. Now, forget about Williams, Delaney, McSweeney, Gerardi and Brookfield for a moment. I know their deaths were probably related, but I want to concentrate on the events since the disappearance of the compound. What came first?"

Carlos said, "The first thing we did was talk to Ferguson who told us he thought Howard Snow took the compound."

"That's right. Then what?"

"Then Snow's house blew up, making everyone think he was dead. Until we found him and spoke to him. And he told us the government was trying to kill him."

Spinelli added, "And then they did try to kill him, blowing up his Hummer and killing his roommate instead."

I said, "Yes, but that agent I clobbered at Dwyer's house said his agency didn't do it."

Spinelli scoffed at that. "Of course he said that. What would you expect?"

"How 'bout the commandos that shot up Carlos' car? You said yourself that points to an outside group and not the U.S. government."

"Yeah," said Carlos. "What about my car?"

"I never said they weren't U.S. agents. I said they probably weren't."

Carlos muttered, "They are persistent. Whoever they are."

I shook my head. "We're getting nowhere. It's obvious we have nothing if we don't have Howard Snow." I said to Spinelli, "Did you check his records again like I asked? His pa.s.sport travels and whatnot?"

"I did."

"And?"

"Nothing. The man has not left the country since he honeymoon in Mexico in 1976. It is probably the reason the government has not found him yet. Even with all their resources, they can't track a man who leaves no paper trail."

"I suppose."

I slipped my spoon into my coffee. It seemed strange, but I thought of Ursula then. I could feel her in my head. In my mind like a ghost, haunting my subconscious. No matter what I did, I could not break free of the feeling she was with me physically. Spiritually. Emotionally. Carlos and Spinelli were talking, maybe about Howard Snow. Maybe not. It didn't matter. My thoughts were miles away, drifting like vapor in a cloudless sky. I stirred my coffee absentmindedly. Closed my eyes and let the moment take me. Music from the jukebox rolled through the restaurant in silent waves. Muted by Ursula's soft voice whispering in my ears. Calling me. Beckoning me home.

"Tony."

I opened my eyes. Carlos and Spinelli were looking at me. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah. Sure."

Spinelli said, "I thought you were falling asleep."

"Asleep?" Carlos pointed at me with his fork. "I thought you were dead."

The two laughed at that, and then I laughed. And when I saw that they did not expect a better explanation from me, I gathered my wits and stowed them away in safe place.

"Listen," I said. I took a quick sip of coffee to wet my dry lips. "Carlos, you remember Monday morning you said you went to the hospital to investigate a missing Jane Doe?"

"Sure," he said. "Craziest thing. Isn't it? What sick b.a.s.t.a.r.d would steal a dead body?" He looked to Spinelli. "If someone kidnaps a corpse, is it still kidnapping?"

Spinelli shrugged. "Don't suppose so. I think you have to take someone against their will for that."

"What if he...you know." He gestured by poking his finger through a closed fist.

Spinelli grimaced. "Don't know. It's just one stiff doing another then."

They both laughed at that. I cleared my throat. "Excuse me. Can we get back to this?" The two straightened up promptly. "Carlos, what became of it?"

"The missing cadaver? Nothing. It's still an open case. Haven't really had time to look into it much after this Biocrynetix Laboratories thing. Why? What are you thinking?"

I leaned forward, propping my elbows up on the table. "Okay, hear me out." Carlos and Spinelli leaned in likewise. "We know that Mrs. Snow pa.s.sed away in the early hours of Monday morning. Correct?"

Spinelli answered, "Yes, and per her husband's request, the hospital cremated her immediately."

"That's right. But what if it wasn't her?"

"How do you mean?"

"I mean New Castle General would likely bed two terminally ill patients together on the same floor, in the same wing. Possibly in the same room."

"You think Snow's wife and the Jane Doe were roommates?"

"Maybe."

"Wait," said Spinelli. "Are you suggesting Howard Snow killed Jane Doe after his own wife died, switched her body for his wife's and then slipped out of the building with her?"

"That would explain why he insisted they cremate her right away, before anyone realized it wasn't her."

"So, Jane Doe wasn't really missing. She was cremated."

"Exactly."

"But why?" asked Carlos.

Spinelli offered, "So he could use the compound on his wife. If he believes QE647 really worked, then he might try it on his wife to bring her back to life. That would explain his motive for stealing it."

Carlos said, "I bet Williams caught him stealing the compound, maybe told Delaney and that's why Snow killed them."

"What about his old roommate?" I asked. "Why would Snow kill him?"

"I don't think he did," Spinelli said. "You saw the wreckage from the car bomb. It took military-grade high explosives to rip that Hummer apart. Howard Snow would not have had access to something so advanced."

"No." I shook my head. "I don't think the people looking for Snow would risk destroying the doc.u.ments. That's why they shot up Carlos' car at close range. They could just as easily have fired a missile at it from a helicopter and made a cleaner get-a-way."

"Seems they made a clean enough get-a-way to me," Carlos complained.

I acknowledged that with a nod. "Still, they had boots on the ground because they fully expected to retrieve the doc.u.ments and possibly the compound."

Spinelli asked, "So, where does that leave us?"